Writers pump out 50,000-words in novel contest

BY WENDY BIRD

The idea of writing a 50,000-word novel in a month may be daunting to some but, for 26-year-old Stacey Lavallie, it all depends on how you look at it.

"It's not that hard, really. It's only about 1,667 words per day," she said with a laugh.

Lavallie is the regional municipal liaison for Sudbury's NaNoWriMo challenge, a novel-writing contest that runs from midnight Nov. 1 until 11:59 pm Nov. 30.

According to contest promotional literature, the contest is "a hands-on writing adventure where everyday people all around the world bash out a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. No judges, no entry fees, no pressure. Just a walloping deadline and a supportive, over caffeinated community to help you reach your book-writing goals."

"There's no specific prize, other than a pat on the back," Lavallie said. "What the event is all about is personally challenging people to write like they've never written before. It's a big confidence booster for those who want to write a book and just can't seem to get started."

Lavallie has helped guide the local NaNoWriMo chapter for the last couple of years after returning to Sudbury from Toronto where she worked and went to Seneca College for computer networking and support. It was there that she first learned about NaNoWriMo and took part in the unique contest.

When she returned to Sudbury in 2005, she was disappointed that NaNoWriMo was not represented in Sudbury.

"I had so much fun participating in NaNoWriMo in Toronto that I decided to start a group up here," she said.

Last year about 35 people took part in the group, although not everyone came out to the meetings and most didn't make it to the 50,000-word mark.

"At least five of us made it to the 50,000-word target," she said. "But it doesn't matter if a person makes it to 50,000 - it's all about personal growth."

The challenge is open to people of any age, although Lavallie specifies that children under the age of 16 need to bring along a parent for the first meeting so organizers can meet them and talk with them about what NaNoWriMo involves.

NaNoWriMo is the largest writing contest in the world. In 2006, more than 79,000 people took part in the challenge. From this group, 16 have had their novels published, including Sarah Gruen, author of New York Times bestseller, Water for Elephants.

About 18 percent of NaNoWriMo participants "win" every year by writing 50,000 words and validating their novels on the organization's web site before midnight, Nov. 30.

NaNoWriMo director and founder Chris Baty says "the 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your imagination and unleashing creative potential like nothing else. When you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both." Baty, who hails from California, founded the contest in 1999.

Having a local chapter of NaNoWriMo in Greater Sudbury is a bonus for people looking to take part in the annual writing challenge.

"As a group we provide support to one another," Lavallie said. "Especially when people hit the second week doldrums or get a case of 25,000-word writers block."

Lavallie says she has all kinds of writing goodies to help NaNoWriMo participants as they voyage through their written epics, including charts, goal-setting material and a "plot bag" from which writers can pull ideas.

For more information, contact Lavallie at 698-6193 or go online to www.nanowrimo .